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THE  HIGHER  INDUSTRIAL  EDUCATION. 


By  Prof.  John  Hamilton,  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  College. 

This  is  a  nation  of  workers.  Almost  every  industry,  from  the  most 
simple  and  easily  understood,  to  the  most  complex  and  difficult,  is  pursued 
among  us.  In  the  earlier  stages  of  society,  when  wants  were  simple,  the 
forms  of  labor  necessary  to  supply  these  wants  were  correspondingly  simple ; 
but  as  the  race  progressed  and  tastes  became  more  highly  developed,  the 
demand  for  the  old  simple  forms  was  lessened,  and  new  and  higher  and 
more  complex  forms  were  required. 

This  progress  has  continued  until  the  necessity  for  ordinary  labor  has 
become  comparatively  slight,  and  the  number  of  common  workers,  as  in¬ 
stanced  by  the  army  of  the  idle,  is  greater  than  the  demand,  whilst  the  de¬ 
mand  for  skilled  workers  is  constantly  increasing,  and  the  number  respond¬ 
ing  is  far  below  what  is  required.  Every  year  seems  to  have  added  to  the 
ranks  of  the  unskillful,  and  consequently  unemployed,  until  the  subject  of 
their  relief  has  become  a  grave  national  question.  Labor,  too,  has  become 
alarmed  at  her  situation,  for  she  has  discovered  that  if  she  would  not  be 
left  to  gain  her  livelihood  in  abandoned  processes  and  unremunerative  forms, 
she  must  do  one  of  two  things,  either  stop  human  progress,  or  else  keep 
pace  with  civilization.  Although  the  first  proposition  is  advocated  by 
some  as  the  remedy  for  what  they  term  the  wrongs  of  labor,  yet  it  is  so 
opposed  to  the  spirit  of  our  institutions  as  to  be  unworthy  of  serious  con¬ 
sideration.  But  the  second  question  is  one  of  very  grave  importance. 
What  can  be  done  to  enable  labor  to  keep  abreast  of  civilization,  and  in 
time  lead  its  advance  ?  For  many  years  labor  has  been  asking  this  ques¬ 
tion.  For  many  years  the  most  able  philanthropists  and  statesmen  have 
given  it  their  careful  attention,  and  the  more  thoroughly  it  is  investigated, 
and  the  longer  it  is  considered,  the  more  decided,  emphatic,  and  unvarying 
is  the  reply  that  is  returned :  educate  labor  and  along  with  labor  the  laborer. 

The  great  need  of  the  industrial  classes  in  order  to  meet  the  demands  of 
the  times  is  knowledge,  a  knowledge  of  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it.  They, 
in  other  words,  need  education,  and  such  education  as  will  best  fit  them 
for  their  pursuit  in  life. 

This  idea  has,  in  an  informal  way,  been  handed  over  to  the  educators  of 
this  country,  with  the  request  that  they  provide  a  course  in  education  that 
will  meet  this  want. 

For  more  than  twenty  years  the  question  has  been  before  the  educational 
institutions  of  this  and  other  States,  and  whilst  progress  in  the  direction  of 
industrial  education  has  been  made,  yet  most  have  to  confess  that  existing 
plans  are  immature  and  present  methods  are  far  from  perfect. 

For  quite  a  while  the  leading  educators  and  educational  institutions  of 
this  country  either  totally  ignored  the  project  or  treated  it  with  contempt. 
But  the  demands  of  the  people  for  some  system  of  relief  became  so  urgent 


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that  they  were  forced  to  drop  their  old  educational  prejudices  and  set  them¬ 
selves  to  meet  these  new  demands.  And  now  the  course  of  educational 
thought  seems  to  be  in  the  direction  of  making  education  a  more  available 
means  of  advancing  the  interests  of  industrial  art. 

Those  who  are  engaged  in  industrial  pursuits  may  be  divided  into  two  V 

classes  :  First,  “Those  who  work  under  directions,  or  day  laborers.  Second, 

Those  who  direct  and  control,  who  invent  new  processes  or  improve  the 
old.  “  The  first  embraces  the  trades  and  requires  long  practice  in  order 
to  skillful  performance.”  The  second  calls  for,  first  of  all,  a  thorough  L 

acquaintance  with  the  principles  underlying  the  art;  and  second,  such 
practical  acquaintance  with  it  as  will  enable  the  individual  to  perceive  its 
demands. 

In  order  that  the  wants  of  these  two  classes  may  be  met,  there  ought  to 
be,  it  would  seem,  two  kinds  of  industrial  education  provided,  one  for  the 
trades,  and  one  for  the  higher  forms  of  industrial  art.  It  is  practically 
impossible  for  the  mass  of  workers  ever  to  pursue  any  very  extended  course 
of  education,  or  in  other  words,  become  college  graduates.  Most  are  too 
poor  Hg;  to  spare  either  the  time  or  the  money  for  such  a  purpose.  Many 
are  disinclined  to  study.  And  multitudes  see  no  necessity  for  such  exten¬ 
sive  knowledge  in  order  to  gain  a  livelihood.  Comparatively  few,  there¬ 
fore,  of  the  whole  number  of  workers  will  obtain  diplomas  from  the  col¬ 
leges  of  the  land.  Most  must  be  content  with  the  education  given  in  the 
common  schools,  whilst  many  are  destitute  of  even  that.  The  art  educa¬ 
tion  of  these  multitudes,  who  are  thus  deprived  of  collegiate  advantages, 
is  a  subject  all  important  and  requiring  immediate  attention  on  the  part  of 
legislators  and  educators;  and  upon  its  proper  solution  will  depend  in  a 
large  degree  the  progress  of  industry  and  the  welfare  of  the  country.  The 
character  of  the  subject  assigned  me,  and  the  limits  of  this  paper,  forbid 
my  discussing  this  division  of  industrial  education.  And  I  shall  do  no 
more  than  express  the  conviction  that  it  is  not  only  possible,  but  entirely 
practicable  for  a  considerable  degree  of  art  education  to  be  given  these 
masses,  and  that,  too,  without  serious  additional  expense  to  the  State. 

The  subject  that  I  am  called  upon  to  consider  is,  “  The  Higher  Indus¬ 
trial  Education ,”  or  such  education  as  will  fit  men  for  higher  industrial 
life. 

For  years  many  of  the  most  thoughtful  and  intelligent  men  of  the  land, 
in  looking  into  the  educational  system  of  their  time,  felt  that  something 
important  was  lacking  in  the  course  of  training  pursued  by  classical  schools. 

Whilst  these  schools  sent  out  men  of  large  learning  and  great  mental  ability, 
for  the  learned  men  of  that  day,  and  modern  times  have  produced  none 
greater,  were  almost,  without  exception,  trained  in  these  schools,  and,  al¬ 
though  they  received  young  men  from  every  situation  in  society,  from  all 
occupations,  professions,  and  trades,  yet  they  returned  but  a  small  percent¬ 
age  to  industrial  pursuits;  but  gave,  on  the  contrary,  their  classes  nearly 
unbroken  to  professional  or  literary  life,  thus  causing  the  brains  of  industry 
to  be  appropriated  by  professional  pursuits.  The  results  of  this  course  of 
training  had  become  so  certain  that  the  fact  that  a  boy  from  industrial  life 
was  in  college,  and  intended  to  graduate,  was  positive  evidence  that  that 
boy  was  lost  to  industrial  art. 

There  was  something  in  their  course  of  education  and  training  that  gave 
a  boy  a  distaste  for  industrial  pursuits,  and  as  certainly  gave  him  a  long¬ 
ing  for  professional  or  literary  life. 

This  could  have  but  one  effect  upon  the  industries  of  the  country,  and 
that  was  to  seriously  retard  their  progress,  and  eventually  cause  their 
death.  In  view  of  the  serious  consequences  sure  to  come  when  this  pro- 


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ductive  strength  of  the  country  is  taken  and  turned  into  unproductive  pur¬ 
suits,  leaving  only  the  ignorant  to  do  manual  work,  it  became  exceedingly 
important  to  the  prosperity  of  the  country  to  discover  some  means  for  ar¬ 
resting  this  flow.  So  alarming  did  this  injury  to  industrial  pursuits  be¬ 
come,  that  the  national  Legislature  was  called  upon  to  provide  a  remedy. 

Congress,  after  very  full  discussion  of  the  problem,  and  after  consulta¬ 
tion  with  men  of  all  classes,  learned  and  unlearned,  ideal  and  practical,  both 
in  this  country  and  in  foreign  lands,  passed  the  act  of  July  2,  1862,  enti¬ 
tled,  u  An  act  donating  land  to  the  several  States  and  Territories  which 
may  provide  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.” 
It,  of  course,  became  important  to  know  just  what  kind  of  a  school  Con¬ 
gress  intended  to  establish.  The  act  declares  that  “  the  leading  object 
should  be,  without  excluding  other  scientific  and  classical  studies,  and  in¬ 
cluding  military  tactics,  to  teach  such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related 
to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  in  such  manner  as  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  may  prescribe,  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal  and  practical  edu¬ 
cation  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  professions  in 
life.” 

Congress  thus  intended  to  establish  schools  that  would  “  promote  the 
liberal  and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pur¬ 
suits  and  professions  in  life,”  mentioning  specially  agriculture,  the  me¬ 
chanic  arts,  and  military  tactics.  Or,  in  other  words,  a  school  which  shall 
better  fit  men  for  industrial  pursuits,  in  order  that  thereby  they  may  bene¬ 
fit  industrial  arts.  Congress  clearly  did  not  intend  to  establish  the  old 
classical  schools,  or  schools  to  turn  out  men  for  the  so-called  learned  pro¬ 
fessions  or  literary  life.  These  already  existed,  and  it  was  to  cut  loose 
from  these  and  the  course  of  training  so  destructive  to  industrial  art  that 
it  gave  the  lands.  Congress  wished  to  establish  a  school,  not  for  the  lit¬ 
erary  classes,  but  for  the  industrial  classes.  It  would  therefore  seem,  un¬ 
der  this  act,  to  be  a  perversion  of  the  funds  granted  to  use  them  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  a  purely  classical  education,  since  this  appears  to  be  the 
very  thing  Congresss  ought  to  avoid.  A  purely  classical  educational  course, 
therefore,  in  such  a  college  ought  not  to  be  maintained,  or  if  maintained 
at  all,  not  out  of  this  fund. 

The  act  declares  not  only  that  schools  shall  be  established  for  the  bene¬ 
fit  of  the  industrial  classes,  but  it  also  says  that  the  education  given  must 
be  “liberal  and  practical.”  It  lays  no  more  stress  upon  one  than  upon 
the  other.  It  does  not  say  that  it  shall  be  two  thirds  liberal  and  one  third 
practical,  or  the  reverse,  or  that  one  man  shall  be  educated  liberally  and 
another  practically,  but  it  is  to  be  liberal,  and  at  the  same  practical.  There 
seems  to  be  no  limit  to  the  extent  of  this  education  further  than  that  fixed 
by  circumstances  and  the  demands  of  the  times,  but  it  must,  nevertheless, 
be  kept  in  mind,  that  however  short  or  extended  the  course  may  be,  the 
liberal  and  practical  education  must  go  hand  in  hand,  and  no  sacrifice  of 
one  for  the  benefit  of  the  other  is  allowed.  Neither  is  it  first  liberal  and 
then  practical,  but  liberal  and  practical  side  by  side. 

“  The  primary  object  of  education  is  the  discipline  and  improvement  of 
the  mind.”  A  man’s  power  for  usefulness,  other  things  being  equal,  “  de¬ 
pends  upon  his  mental  power,  and  his  value  to  the  world  depends  upon  this 
and  his  ability  to  use  that  power  for  the  good  of  his  race.”  An  idiot  or 
an  imbecile  is  of  little  use  as  a  member  of  society,  or  as  a  citizen  of  the 
State;  but  a  Webster  ora  Clay  makes  his  influence  felt  throughout  the 
world.  It  has  been  well  said  that  “it  is  to  the  mind  of  man  chiefly  that 
must  look  for  the  guage  of  his  power,”  and  the  effort  therefore  of  a  college 
should  be  to  develop  this  power  in  the  highest  degree.”  If  he  is  to  be 


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useful  he  must  have  this  mental  force.  It  is  the  main  power  of  the  man ; 
deprive  him  of  this,  and  he  is  not  only  utterly  useless,  but  a  burden  to 
society.  But  if  the  mental  development  is  all  that  is  needed,  why  not, 
you  ask,  turn  the  pupil  over  to  the  classical  schools,  which  profess  and  con¬ 
fessedly  do  give  this  training  ?  Just  here  is  the  difficulty  with  the  literary 
colleges.  The  course  of  study  by  the  old  system  devoted  the  entire  time 
of  the  student  to  literary  work.  To  languages,  literature,  philosophy,  pure 
mathematics,  &c.,  and  the  whole  atmosphere  of  the  college,  the  conversa¬ 
tion,  dress,  and  habits  were  such  as  to  draw  away  the  tastes  from  indus¬ 
trial  pursuits  to  professional  life.  Their  failure  as  industrial  educators 
was  not  in  the  too  great  development  of  the  minds  of  their  pupils,  but  in 
influencing  these  minds  to  forsake  industrial  life.  Here  is  the  key  to  the 
whole  question  of  higher  industrial  education.  The  old  methods  of  in¬ 
struction  were  defective  in  that  they  gave  the  students’  mind  a  bias  towards 
literature  and  the  professions  instead  of  toward  useful  industrial  arts. 
The  industrial  education  must  remedy  this  not  by  giving  inferior  training, 
but  by  biassing  the  mind  towards  industrial  art.  The  object  of  an  indus¬ 
trial  college  should  therefore  be  to  first  of  all  educate  mens’  minds,  edu¬ 
cate  them  highly,  not  give  them  less  power  than  do  the  literary  schools  but 
a  greater,  and  then  turn  these  minds  thus  trained  and  educated,  into  not 
literary,  but  industrial  pursuits.  This  accomplished,  the  problem  of  in¬ 
dustrial  education  is  solved. 

But  what  is  meant  by  “industrial  pursuits  ?”  Does  it  mean  that  men 
shall  be  educated  highly,  until  they  possess  great  mental  power,  and  then 
devote  the  rest  of  their  lives  to  breaking  stones  upon  a  turnpike,  or  to 
digging  ditches,  at  fifty  cents  per  day  ?  Does  it  mean  that  such  a  one 
shall,  if  his  tastes  are  mechanical  instead  of  agricultural,  simply  clean 
grease  from  old  castings,  or  sledge  up  old  iron  during  his  entire  life?  It 
does  not.  The  man  is  capable  of  doing  better  work  than  this  and  it  would 
be  a  prostitution  of  his  powers  for  him  to  devote  his  life  to  any  such  em¬ 
ployment.  The  demand  in  industrial  life  is  not  so  much  for  “  day  laborers 
as  for  improved  processes.”  “  There  are  day  laborers  enough,  but  what 
is  wanted  is  better  and  more  economical  methods.”  Manual  skill  in  the  art 
is  not  so  much  needed  as  knowledge  of  the  principles  that  control  the  art. 
Not  so  much  a  man  to  follow  a  plow,  as  a  man  that  will  invent  a  plow  that 
will  do  twice  the  work  with  half  the  cost  of  the  present  one.  It  would  be 
great  folly  for  a  man  of  high  attainments  to  devote  his  life  to  labor  that 
would  bring  him  but  fifty  cents  per  day,  when  he  could  as  easily  earn 
twenty-five  dollars  in  the  same  time,  by  pursuing  a  different  course.  “  Com¬ 
mon  labor  is,  and  always  will  be,  cheap,”  and  it  is  useless  to  expect  that 
men  will  go  to  college,  spending  from  one  to  two  thousand  dollars,  besides 
years  of  labor,  in  the  acquirement  of  an  education,  in  order  that  they  may 
devote  their  lives  to  digging  ditches.  A  college  education  is  not  necessary 
in  order  that  a  man  may  be  a  good  ditcher.  The  man  can  earn  no  more 
at  this  business,  with  his  education,  than  without  it;  possibly  not  as  much 
a  s  the  uneducated  man  by  his  side.  Muscle  is  needed  here,  and  muscle  is  paid. 
An  educated  man  cannot  hold  plow  enough  better  than  the  uneducated 
man  to  justify  the  employer  in  giving  him  seven  or  eight  times  the  wages 
of  the  other,  and  so  in  mechanical  trades.  Here  is  the  rock  upon  which  so 
many  plans  for  higher  industrial  education  have  split.  They  expected 
men  to  spend  thousands  of  dollars  in  the  acquirement  of  a  thorough  edu¬ 
cation,  and  then  go  to  work  at  common  labor  for  fifty  cents  per  day.  Their 
pupils  did  not  do  it,  and  they  never  will  do  it.  Their  duty  to  themselves, 
to  their  families,  and  to  society,  demand  that  they  do  better,  if  they  can. 
It  may  be  accepted  as  a  principle  in  life  that  men  work  for  money,  and  not 


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for  pleasure  alone,  and  that  an  44  industry  must  be  remunerative,  or  it  will 
lack  competent  men.” 

14  The  graduates  of  these  colleges  must  get  lucrative  employment  in  in¬ 
dustrial  art,  or  they  will  leave  it.” 

The  place  for  the  man  possessed  of  higher  industrial  education  is  not 
that  of  a  hewer  of  wood  or  a  drawer  of  water,  but  in  the  higher  depart¬ 
ments  of  industrial  life.  There  is  where  the  demand  is  made. 

A  cry  comes  up  to  these  schools  for  competent  directors,  inventors,  im¬ 
provers,  investigators,  superintendents,  engineers,  discoverers,  managers, 
designers,  and  the  like.  Comes  up  from  all  the  departments  of  industrial 
art,  and  these  will  furnish  ample  and  remunerative  employment  for  men 
of  education,  through  all  time  to  come. 

It  is  evident,  too,  that  these  schools  are  not  schools  whose  object  it  is 
to  teach  trades,  44  for  it  is  impossible  in  the  limited  time  of  a  college  course 
to  do  justice  to  the  mental  culture  of  the  student,  and  at  the  same  time 
give  a  high  degree  of  manual  dexterity  in  any  trade.”  So  much  and  such 
sort  of  practice  can  and  should  be  given,  as  is  needed  to  illustrate  and  en¬ 
force  instruction  in  the  principles  of  the  art,  and  no  more. 

Trade  schools  on  the  other  hand,  and  for  similar  reasons,  can  do  little 
else  than  teach  the  trade. 

The  true  object  of  these  higher  industrial  schools  is  to  send  out  classes 
of  highly  educated  men  and  women,  who,  instead  of  turning  their  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  professions  or  literature,  will  direct  their  powers  towards  the 
improvement  of  industrial  art,  and  benefit  the  body  of  workers  through 
the  discovery  of  principles,  and  the  improvement  of  processes  in  all  the 
departments  of  industrial  life. 

The  object  is  to  educate  men  who,  with,  their  superior  mental  power  and 
knowledge  of  science  and  art,  will  devote  their  lives  to  inventing,  manag¬ 
ing,  organizing,  directing,  and  discovery.  Men  of  high  scientific  attain¬ 
ments  who  shall  reveal  to  the  mass  of  mankind  the  practical  uses  of  science. 
Men  like  Franklin,  Johnston,  Watt  Lei  big,  and  others  taking  one  or  sev¬ 
eral  branches  of  industrial  art,  and  improve  it  and  make  it  available  to 
the  mass  of  their  fellow-men,  discovering  new  and  improved  methods  that 
the  most  ignorant  can  apply  in  their  daily  work. 

Here  is  the  work  of  the  higher  industrial  schools,  and  the  field  is  limit¬ 
less.  Agriculture,  mechanics,  science,  architecture,  fine  arts,  manufac¬ 
tures  of  every  conceivable  kind,  and  in  every  land  call  for  talent  and  ability 
to  devote  their  powers  to  their  use,  and  they  pay  for  it — pay  far  better  than 
the  learned  professions,  as  law,  medicine,  or  literature. 

Here  is  a  field  unoccupied  by  the  educational  institutions  of  the  day. 
The  literary  colleges  do  not  fill  it,  but,  on  the  contrary,  drain  it  of  it  pres¬ 
ent  life.  Let  the  literary  colleges  still  supply  the  ranks  of  literature  and 
the  professions; 

Let  the  industrial  schools  see  that  equal  power  is  yearly  added  to  the 
ranks  of  industrial  life. 

The  important  question  yet  remains,  can  a  system  of  education  be  con¬ 
structed  that  will  certainly  and  surely  graduate  men  of  high  attainments 
into  industrial  life? 

I  believe  that  it  can.  I  believe  that  it  is  possible  and  practicable  by  a 
proper  system  of  training,  to  turn  men  into  any  pursuit  in  life.  History 
shows  that  this  has  been  done,  and  observation  of  existing  institutions 
shows  that  it  is  done  to-day.  The  principle  is  no  new  one,  neither  is  it 
uncertain  in  its  action.  It  is  old  as  history,  and  as  certain  as  any  other 
law.  The  universal  practice  of  individuals  in  the  government  of  their 
families,  of  all  bodies,  civil  and  religious,  in  dealing  with  mankind,  prove 


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conclusively  that  training,4,  habit,  and  association  are  the  “  forces  that 
mould  the  race.”  The  children  of  Catholics  are  commonly  Catholics,  those 
of  Presbyterians,  Presbyterians  ;  the  children  of  Democrats,  Democrats, 
those  of  Republicans,  Republicans ;  and  the  same  law  and  principle  holds 
true  throughout  the  whole  structure  of  society.  The  reason  why  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  lawyers  are  not  always  lawyers,  and  those  of  other  professions  and 
trades  the  same  as  that  of  their  fathers,  is  because  no  judicious  course  oi 
special  training  for  this  purpose  was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  child  in  its 
early  life.  When  children  are  devoted  to  the  ministry  by  their  parents 
at  an  early  age,  they  commonly  adopt  this  life,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the 
law  and  other  professions.  Children  wander  off  into  other  trades  and  pro¬ 
fessions,  because  they  are  left  largely  to  themselves,  or  see  but  the  dis¬ 
agreeable  side  of  their  father’s  work. 

The  Jesuits  train  ninety-nine  in  one  hundred  of  the  boys  that  they  get 
to  be  Jesuits  ;  and  they  do  it  by  sj^stem,  there  is  no  chance-  about  it.  West 
Point  turns  out  her  soldiers  year  after  year,  and  she  manufactures  them 
from  the  raw  material.  Princeton,  Yale,  and  Harvard  each  turn  out  men 
of  different  stamp.  Oxford,  Cambridge,  and  the  various  German  univer¬ 
sities,  each  sends  out  its  distinctive  class  of  thinkers. 

The  influences  they  bring  to  bear  mould  the  minds  of  those  whose  edu¬ 
cation  they  control.  What  system  of  education  then  will  cause  students 
to  choose  industrial  rather  than  literary  life  ?  This  is  the  educational 
problem  that  has  occupied  the  attention  of  the  friends  of  industrial  edu¬ 
cation  for  many  years.  I  have  stated  that  the  old  methods  of  instruction 
were  defective  as  industrial  educators,  in  that  they  gave  the  minds  of  their 
students  a  bias  towards  literature  and  the  professions  instead  of  toward 
the  useful  arts.  Their  course  of  study,  their  methods  of  instruction,  the 
tastes  of  their  teachers,  and  all  the  influences  of  the  educational  establish¬ 
ment  were  calculated  to  magnify  literature  and  the  learned  professions, 
and  breed  a  contempt  for  practical  life  in  the  mind  of  the  student. 

The  teachers  were  commonly  men  whose  education  was  of  the  literary 
kind,  knowing  but  little  of  the  wants  of  practical  life,  or  the  necessities 
of  useful  art ;  on  the  other  hand,  they  rather  prided  themselves  upon  their 
abstractions,  and  despised  the  knowledge  that  attempted  to  reduce  these 
to  such  forms  as  might  enable  them  to  be  used  by  the  world  beneath  them. 
Is  it  strange  that  from  such  teaching  and  such  associations  young  men, 
in  their  ignorance  of  the  real  want  and  opportunities  of  practical  life, 
should  turn  to  learning  and  abstraction  instead  of  to  useful  arts  ?  Is  it 
not  rather  strange  that  ever  one  returned  to  practical  pursuits ;  when,  as, 
in  rare  instances,  it  did  occur,  that  some  one  appreciating  the  demand  of 
the  vast  field  of  industry  upon  educated  men,  resolved  to  enter  it  and 
contribute  his  share  for  the  benefit  of  his  race,  his  purpose  was  met  by  the 
pitying  smile  of  teachers,  and  perhaps  the  open  sneer  of  his  cultivated 
classmates.  For  years  the  scientific  students  in  Yale  and  Harvard  were 
despised  by  the  literary  classes,  and  to-day  the  literary  colleges,  though 
not  so  much  as  formerly,  look  with  contempt  on  the  scientific  schools,  and 
even  in  these  scientific  schools  themselves  the  practice  of  useful  industry 
in  connection  with  collegiate  training  is  sneered  at  as  unbecoming  and  un¬ 
fit  employment  for  gentlemen  of  brains. 

I  will  not  be  understood  as  undervaluing  literary  studies.  On  the  con¬ 
trary,  I  believe  that  no  education  can  be  complete  without  somewhat  of 
this  literary  culture.  But  what  I  do  protest  against  just  here,  is  the  in¬ 
tellectual  snobbery  that  assumes  that  useful  art  is  necessarily  degrading. 
The  means  that  I  have  to  propose  for  turning  the  tide  of  higher  education 
into  industrial  channels,  is  to  have  the  circumstances  in  these  schools  in 


T 


accord  with  the  object  to  be  attained.  Give  a  discipline  and  education  of 
such  a  kind  and  in  such  a  way,  and  under  such  circumstances,  as  will  bias 
the  mind  of  students  in  the  direction  of  industrial  art.  How  can  this  be 
done?  I  reply  that  it  cannot  be  done,  if  the  men  who  lead  in  industrial 
education  do  not  believe  in  it.  To  put  a  Democratic  President  with  a 
democratic  cabinet  into  power,  to  carry  out  Republican  principles,  would 
be  thought  absurd.  To  put  a  Quaker,  no  matter  how  able  or  how  good  a 
man  he  might  be,  at  the  head  of  our  armies,  would  not  be  considered  good 
policy,  especially  if  the  government  was  engaged  in  an  extensive  war.  To 
make  a  Presbyterian  Pope  of  Rome,  would  not  be  the  best  way  to  propo- 
gate  the  doctrine  of  papal  infallibility  throughout  the  world.  The  princi¬ 
ple  that  is  involved  is,  that  those  who  give  direction  must  be  in  sympathy 
with  the  main  idea  of  the  project.  So  it  is  in  industrial  colleges,  there 
must  be  first  of  all,  and  before  anything  else  is  done,  a  corps  of  instructors 
informed  as  to  the  wants  of  industrial  life,  and  in  full  sympathy  with  in¬ 
dustrial  education.  The  lack  of  this,  more  than  the  defect  in  the  system 
of  education  pursued,  has  caused  the  failure  of  so  many  of  our  industrial 
schools. 

I  reply,  second,  that  the  system  of  education  and  course  of  study  must 
be  different  from  that  of  the  old  classical  schools. 

I  do  not  mean  that  the  industrial  course  should  cut  itself  loose  entirely 
from  the  old  education  of  the  classical  schools.  These  schools  did  good 
work  in  developing  the  mind,  and  so  far  as  they  trained  the  intellect  and 
developed  mental  power  were  all  right,  and  the  studies  that  tend  to  this 
development  should  still  be  kept  and  required,  not,  perhaps,  to  the  extent 
that  they  required,  but  to  some  extent,  and  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  make 
correct  thinkers  and  strong  reasoners. 

But  the  old  education  neglected  to  recognize  the  fact  that  life  deals  not 
only  with  mind  and  metaphysics,  but  with  matter  as  well,  and,  consequently, 
those  subjects  of  study  that  give  information  in  material  things  were  omit¬ 
ted,  or,  in  other  words,  the  natural  sciences  were  not  taught  as  studies 
bearing  directly  upon  the  practical  side  of  life.  Nature  was  left  to  take 
care  of  herself,  and  man’s  relation  to  natural  things  was  not  shown,  Their 
graduates  were  expected  to  understand  logic,  rhetoric,  mathematics,  and 
language ;  but  botany,  geology,  chemistry,  and  the  other  sciences  that 
affect  practical  life  were  not  required,  or,  if  required,  were  superficially 
taught.  The  industrial  education  should  make  much  of  these  natural 
sciences,  partly  because  they  are  matters  necessary  in  any  well  rounded 
education,  but  chiefly  because  of  their  bearing  directly  upon  the  practical 
side  of  life,  and  because  of  their  tendency  to  give  that  bias  to  the  minds 
of  students  that  it  is  the  object  of  an  industrial  education  to  give. 

These  sciences  should  not  be  taught  in  their  abstract  form  alone,  but  in 
a  practical  way,  keeping  constantly  before  the  mind  of  the  pupil  the  eco¬ 
nomic  value  of  the  sciences  that  he  studies,  and  the  relations  that  exist  be¬ 
tween  these  sciences  and  practical  life,  and  at  the  same  time  their  influ¬ 
ence  upon  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  mankind  should  be  fully  and 
clearly  set  forth. 

The  higher  industrial  education  means  not  an  inferior  education,  but 
one  more  extended  than  that  of  the  old,  for  it  is  evident  that  the  man  who 
intends  to  make  the  domain  of  nature  and  art  his  life  study,  should,  in 
order  to  interrogate  intelligently,  and  interpret  the  replies  correctly,  have 
an  education  superior  to  one  who  wishes  merely  to  gain  a  livelihood  in 
law  or  medicine,  or  professional  life.  He  must  first  of  all  take  rank  as  an 
educated,  competent  man.  He  must  meet  the  classical  scholar  upon  his 


8 


favorite  ground,  and  must  stand  side  by  side  with  the  eminent  scientists 
of  the  day.  He  must,  in  other  words,  combine  the  acquirements  of  both. 

But  it  is  not  enough  in  an  industrial  education  that  a  man  have  merely 
a  knowledge  of  the  theory  of  things.  A  man  may  know  the  theory  of 
music  and  not  be  able  to  strike  correctly  a  single  note.  A  man  may  under¬ 
stand  the  theory  of  swimming,  and  yet,  when  plunged  into  the  water,  go 
to  the  bottom  like  a  stone.  Knowing,  without  ability  to  do,  is  of  little 
value.  Bower  of  any  kind,  without  ability  to  use  it,  is  about  worthless  ; 
and  ability  to  use  comes  only  through  practice.  It  is  well  established 
that  it  takes  “  practice  to  make  perfect.”  There  must  be  practice  in  all 
education.  Chemistry,  botany,  mathematics,  literature,  language,  and 
art  each  requires  practice  to  fix  the  student’s  knowledge,  to  familiarize  him 
with  the  details  of  processes,  and  to  give  him  confidence  in  his  ability  to  do. 

Whilst  this  is  important  in  any  education,  it  is  specially  important  in 
industrial  education  in  giving  that  bias  that  it  is  the  special  aim  of  these 
colleges  to  give.  The  practice  should  be  adapted  to  the  course  of  study, 
and  it,  like  the  rest  of  the  educational  course,  should  be  a  complete  and 
progressive  course,  and  not  the  repetition  of  previous  practice,  but  new 
work  at  each  successive  stage  of  progress.  No  student  should  be  exempt. 

If  he  is  physically  unable  to  practice,  he  will  be  unable  to  pursue  an  in¬ 
dustrial  calling,  and  should  therefore  go  to  some  school  where  the  object 
is  not  specially  to  produce  scholars  for  industrial  life.  The  amount  of 
this  practice  should  be  simply  enough  to  fix  the  student’s  knowledge,  and  • 
no  more.  He  is  not  here  to  learn  a  trade  either  in  science  or  art,  he  is 
here  for  his  education,  and  if  he  wishes  to  pursue  a  special  course  in  any 
department  of  study  or  practice,  he  can  do  so  in  a  post-graduate  course. 
For  it  is  evident  that  if  he  does  so  whilst  in  his  regular  course,  he  must 
do  it  at  the  expense  of  some  other  branch  of  learning,  and  no  one  depart¬ 
ment  has  a  right  to  rob  another  of  reasonable  facilities  for  culture.  As 
constituting  a  most  important  part  of  the  industrial  practice,  I  mention 
drawing  in  its  various  departments.  It  is  the  alphabet  of  art,  and  it  gives 
a  familiarity  with  the  forms  of  things,  and  keeps  the  student  to  the  prac¬ 
tical  side  of  life  as  nothing  else  that  I  know  of  does.  It  is  all  important 
in  a  course  of  practice  in  an  industrial  college. 

This,  then,  is,  in  general  terms,  the  way  that  I  propose  for  causing  stu¬ 
dents  to  enter  industrial  life.  Add  to  the  old  education  :  First,  teachers 
familiar  with  the  wants  of  and  in  sympathy  with  industrial  art.  Secondly, 
a  full  and  thorough  scientific  course,  with,  at  least,  one  modern  language. 
Thirdly,  a  progressive,  well  arranged  and  equipped,  system  of  practice.  I 
do  not  mean  by  this  three  separate  and  distinct  courses  of  study,  a  classical, 
scientific,  and  practical.  I  would  have  but  one  course  combining  all  these, 
and  required  of  all  students  who  enter.  Not  a  classical  school,  not  a  sci¬ 
entific  school,  not  a  trade  school,  but  a  combination  of  all  these — an  in¬ 
dustrial  school. 

In  the  course  of  studies  that  I  am  about  to  submit,  it  has  been  the  aim,  not 
only  to  meet  the  views  advanced  in  this  paper,  but  also  to  construct  a  course 
arranged  so  that  any  section  of  it  will  be  complete,  that  whether  the  stu¬ 
dent  wishes  to  stop  early  or  late  in  his  course,  he  shall  have  had  symmet¬ 
rical  development,  and  a  complete  education  so  far  as  he  has  gone,  and  no 
matter  what  his  pursuits  in  after  life  maybe,  to  fit  him  in  the  best  possible 
way  for  engaging  in  it  with  the  highest  credit  and  profit  to  himself,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  enable  him  to  elevate  his  calling  among  the  industries 
of  the  world.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  course  submitted  provides  no 
optional  studies. 

If  the  college  is  to  bring  about  definite  results  the  means  must  be  used 


9 


and  insisted  upon  that  will  bring  about  those  results,  and  whilst  only  those 
studies,  and  so  much  only  of  them  as  is  necessary  to  the  end  in  view,  should 
be  permitted  in  the  course,  yet  these  should  be  required.  These  studies 
have  been  prescribed  because  they  are  deemed  necessary,  and  not  merely 
to  fill  up  the  curriculum.  Students  who  are  up  in  the  course  may  take  ex¬ 
tra  studies,  but  not  as  substitutes  for  those  prescribed.  In  cases  where 
students  have  not  the  time  to  complete  the  entire  course,  and  wish  to  enter 
upon  their  specialty,  they  may  be  permitted  to  stop  in  their  college  course 
after  the  sophomore  year,  and  pursue  a  special  study,  giving  the  entire 
time  to  this  study  until  it  has  been  completed.  The  object  of  the  college 
being,  however,  to  induce  students  to  take  the  full  course,  and  then  pur¬ 
sue  one  of  the  post  graduate  courses  to  fit  them  for  their  special  work. 

The  college  course  contemplates  topical  study  and  recitation,  and  in 
order  that  this  may  be  most  efficient  and  practical,  each  professor  should 
make  out  a  complete  schedule  of  hours  of  recitations  in  a  given  study  in 
his  department.  The  days  upon  which  his  recitations  shall  come ;  the  num¬ 
ber  of  pages  for  each  day,  and  in  addition  should  make  out  a  list  of  refer¬ 
ence  for  each  topic,  showing  where  the  latest  and  most  reliable  informa¬ 
tion  can  be  obtained  in  regard  to  that  topic.  Said  list  to  be  printed  in  the 
text  book,  so  as  to  be  easy  of  access  by  the  student.  The  library  of  the 
college  should  become  a  reference  library,  and  those  books  referred  to  by 
the  professors  should  be  purchased  and  placed  on  the  shelves  for  use  by 
the  student. 

The  course  of  study  submitted  contemplates  recitation  upon  five  days 
of  the  week,  leaving  Saturday  for  recreation  and  society  work.  The  schedule 
for  each  day  gives  eight  hours  for  sleep,  eight  hours  for  study  and  recita¬ 
tion,  and  eight  hours  for  meals,  recreation,  drill,  and  practicum,  and  is  ar¬ 
ranged  as  follows : 


Hours. 

Sleep, . 

10 

—  6 

8 

Breakfast, . 

6 

—  7 

1 

Study, . 

7 

—  9 

2 

Recitation, . 

9 

—12 

3 

Dinner, . 

12 

—  1.30 

1.30 

Practicum, . 

Dress  for  drill, . 

1. 

30—  3.30 

2 

3.30—  4 

.30 

Drill,  . . 

Supper, . 

4 

—  5 

1 

5 

—  7 

2 

Study, . 

7 

—10 

3 

8 

8 

8 

10 


Academic  Course — Three  Years. 


© 

© 

** 

Is 

o  £ 

First  Year. 

2  © 

Second  Year — Continued. 

w 

w 

4 

Elementery  Algebra. 

i 

Tactics. 

1 

Descriptive  Astronomy. 

4 

Drill  for  Boys. 

3 

Latin. 

4 

Calisthenics  for  Girls. 

1 

Physical  Geography. 

( 5.  Horticulture  and 

1 

1 

History  and  Constitution  of  U.  S. 
Botany. 

10 

“urn,  D“ng. 

1 

MorarPhilosophy. 

{ 1.  Music. 

1 

English  Literature. 

1 

Rhetoricals. 

1 

Agriculture. 

1 

Tactics. 

Third  Year. 

4 

Drill  for  Boys. 

4 

Calisthenics  for  Girls. 

2 

Geometry. 

C  5  Agriculture. 

1 

Plane  Trigometry. 

10 

Practicum,  <  4  Drawing. 

2 

Latin. 

(  1  Music. 

2 

Greek. 

1 

Rhetoricals. 

2 

French  or  German. 

1 

Agriculture. 

Second  Year. 

2 

Chemistry. 

1 

General  History. 

3 

Higher  Algebra. 

1 

Mental  Philosophy. 

1 

Geometry. 

1 

English  Literature — Shakspeare. 

2 

Latin. 

4 

Drill  for  Boys. 

3 

Greek. 

4 

Calisthenics  for  Girls. 

1 

General  History, 

C  5.  Mechanics. 

1 

Agriculture. 

10 

Practicum,  ?  4.  Drawing. 

1 

Natural  Philosophy. 

(  1.  Music. 

1 

English  Literature. 

1 

Rhetoricals. 

1 

Physiology. 

College  Course — Four  Years. 


Hours  per 
week. 

First  Year. 

Hours  per 
week. 

Second  Year. 

1 

Surveying. 

1 

Spherical  Trigonometry. 

2 

Analytical  Geometry, 

2 

Calculus. 

2 

Chemistry. 

2 

Zoology. 

1 

Botany. 

2 

Latin. 

1 

Anatomy  and  Physiology. 

2 

Greek. 

2 

Latin. 

!  2 

French  or  German. 

2 

Greek. 

i 

History  of  Literature. 

2 

French  or  German. 

|  i 

Civil  and  Common  Law. 

1 

General  History. 

1  i 

Rhetoric. 

1 

Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Art. 

i 

Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Art. 

4 

Drill  and  Military  Science,  (boys.) 

1  4 

Drill  and  Military  Science,  (boys.) 

4 

Calisthenics  and  Domestic  Science, 

4 

Calisthenics  and  Domestic  Science, 

(girls.) 

(girls.) 

1 

Rhetoricals. 

1 

Rhetoricals. 

(1.  Surveying. 

(4.  Chemistry. 

j  2.  Botany. 

1 

|  1.  Zoology. 

10 

Practicum,  \  4.  Drawing. 

10 

Practicum,  (  2.  Drawing. 

|  1.  Music. 

|  L.  Music. 

(2.  Agriculture. 

(2.  Mechanics. 

11 


© 

© 

CL  • 

go 

Third  Year. 

g  © 

Fourth  Year. 

c  £ 

o  £ 

K 

w 

2 

Civil  Engineering. 

1 

Astronomy. 

2 

Mechanics  and  Mechanical  Engi- 

1 

Ethnology. 

neering. 

2 

Physics. 

2 

Geology. 

2 

Constitutional  History  and  Inter¬ 

2 

Physics. 

national  Law. 

2 

Greek. 

1 

Philosophy  of  Science. 

1 

Evidences  of  Christianity  and  Ele¬ 

1 

Comparative  Philology. 

ments  of  Philosophy. 

2 

History  of  Philosophy. 

1 

History  of  Arts  and  Manufactures. 

2 

Natural  Theology  and  Philosophy 

1 

Logic. 

of  Religion. 

1 

Political  Economy. 

3 

The  Great  Masters  in  Art  compared. 

1 

Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Art. 

4 

Drill  and  Military  Science,  (boys.) 

4 

Drill  and  Military  Science,  (boys.) 
Calisthenics  and  Domestic  Science, 

4 

Calisthenics  and  Domestic  Science, 

4 

(girls.) 

(girls.) 

1 

Rhetoricals. 

1 

Rhetorical. 

(  5.  Drawing. 

( 4.  Drawing. 

10 

Practicum,  1  1.  Music. 

10 

Practicum  J  L  Geology* 
uiacticum,  <;  ^  Music< 

(4.  Mechanical  Physics. 

(4.  Mechanics. 

Post  Graduate  Course. 

School  of  general  and  applied  chemistry. 

School  of  civil  and  topographical  engineering. 

School  of  mining  and  metallurgy. 

School  of  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  landscape  gardening. 
School  of  design. 

School  of  commerce  and  trade. 

School  of  fine  arts. 

School  of  building  and  architecture. 

School  of  mechanics  and  mechanical  engineering. 


